ILUMINARC® Gives Boston Pizza Modern Look

TORONTO, Canada — A Boston Pizza franchise owner broke away from the relaxed, family-style setting and created the first modernized restaurant in the chain. To set this location apart, a design team installed nearly 60 TVs, more than 50 speakers and 276 Iluminarc® interior lighting solutions programmed with custom scenes. Design Electronics, based in Niagara Falls, contributed to more than 60 Boston Pizza installations. For this restaurant, which is located in the middle of Toronto's bustling entertainment district, Rob Jones, project manager for Design Electronics, and Darren Fousert, systems technician for Design Electronics, installed and programmed the lighting, audiovisual and system control components.

The team used a combination of Ilumipod Logic 6, Ilumipod Logic 12 and Ilumipod Logic Tri-4 interior lighting solutions to provide variable and controllable lighting in the dining areas. To create grand focal points, the team constructed light boxes and transformed them into glowing panels using a combination of Ilumiline Logic 12 and Ilumiline Logic 24 linear wash lights. The aesthetically pleasing light boxes project ambient lighting from the ceiling and walls on the first and second floors. To accentuate the bar area, all three types of Ilumiline fixtures mounted below and behind the bar create a subtle glow.

Fousert designed 30 pre-set programs so Boston Pizza staff members can easily modify the mood of the restaurant. He created a special effect exclusive to this Boston Pizza franchise — when a sports game is on, the lights flash the team's colors simply by pressing a wireless button. All the fixtures are easily controlled from a 12-inch touch panel located at the bar or wirelessly using an iPad.

“We thoroughly investigated different types of interior lighting solutions and found that the biggest advantage of the Illuminarc® line is the ease of installation and control capability,” Fousert said. “This is the first franchise full of LED and DMX-controlled lighting.”